In the early morning hours of April 4, 1981, an unusual and deadly anticyclonic F4 tornado struck West Bend, Wisconsin.
The storm did not appear to be severe and thunderstorm tops were measured to only be 26,000 feet (7,900 m), and a weak bow echo was observed by a radar in Neenah.
All three fatalities occurred within a few blocks of touchdown, as the tornado moved along and north of Green Tree Road before hitting the Moraine Park Technical College campus, destroying the main building at F2-F3 intensity, moving off to the northeast across the Milwaukee River and finally lifting somewhere north of Newark Road.
With many residents left homeless and the threat of more storms looming, Governor Lee S. Dreyfus declared a state of emergency freeing up the area for aid.
The National Weather Service in Milwaukee issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the area that only mentioned a confirmed tornado touchdown.